[Saltheart]

I also rig the eels with the hook down. If you search , somewhere on this site there are posts where I talked about rigging eels and many others had contributions too. I don't like the squids (swim plates) for rigging . They are fine for open areas or sandy bottoms but in the rocks , I think they add little and can cause the eel to get stuck.

I prefer rigged eels over live but as #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& siad , you get sick of rigging them . Its a nasty job. Live eels are much easier. I hook live eels hook up unless I am fishing in real close. Then I hook them in the mouth and out the throat. this method works well but you can cast them off easier if you are not craeful , especially when using braid.

I work rigged eels in many ways , not just pumping them. I just love to drag them through rocks , just like a live eels. One trick for this is go very slow and you shouldn't get hung up on the rocks/mussels/weeds. if you feel it getting stuck , you just let it go limp for a few seconds and it will usually just drift free. I also like to move them along some slow , then let sit and drift in the wash , then move again. Almost like you are falling asleep on the retreive then wake up and keep retreiving. I do sometimes use the pumping action #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& mentions and find you very often get the wack on the up stroke. everything depends on so many things like wind , waves current structure. you just got to do it a lot and see what works where. One thing I know is that if you fish one method for a while at any given spot with no success , you should try something different.

One great thing about rigged eels is the number of foul hook ups you get do to thet tail hook. When they wack it head first , the tail often swings up or under or aside the mouth and the tail hook gets them outside the mouth. You want an exciting fight? get a fish foul hooked just under its chin. the fish can use its head to fight and it makes a 20 pounder seem huge.

i also remove the slime from my rigged eels. It makes them easier to rig , they last longer with multiple thawing and refreezing possible and its easier to snap all the vertibrae for a very limp end product as mentioned above.

Oh , BTW , I don't use them in the canal. In the canal skin jigs are better IMO. However , in normal water , I love rigged eels.